Colorado police sergeant reveals how human traffickers target vulnerable children: ‘Happening in our backyard’

Human traffickers are turning children’s hunger, desperation and need for affection into tools of exploitation, a Colorado city police sergeant warned after his dedicated unit’s first year brought dozens of survivors to safety.

The Aurora Police Department (APD) Human Trafficking Unit opened 53 investigations, arrested 28 suspects and recovered 29 survivors, including 15 minors, in its first year. 

APD Sgt. Joseph Sullivan told Fox News Digital the work is exposing abuse that residents may never suspect is happening around them.

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), "human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act."

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"It is happening in our backyard, not just in those other places," Sullivan said.

For Sullivan, one teenage girl’s plea captures both the urgency of that mission and the difficult road survivors face after investigators reach them.

The 16-year-old had been brought to Aurora — a city of just over 400,000 people outside Denver — from another town by her boyfriend, who then left her there, Sullivan said. 

Trying to survive, she was sexually exploited by people around an apartment complex in exchange for somewhere to stay, drugs or food.

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During an interview, she asked a detective to find those responsible.

"'I really hope that you can find the people that are doing this because it really hurts what I’m having to do just to survive,'" Sullivan recalled her saying.

The girl died of an overdose a few months later, he said.

Her words stayed with him.

"It really is satisfying being able to contact these survivors and then identify who’s exploiting them and holding them accountable," Sullivan said.

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But reaching someone does not guarantee an immediate or lasting escape. Survivors may need repeated contact, resources and offers of help before they can find a way out, he said.

That is part of why having dedicated detectives matters.

Created in September 2025, the trafficking unit has three detectives and a supervising sergeant. Sullivan said its focus is sex trafficking involving people 21 and younger, allowing the small team to concentrate its efforts.

The investigations demand time to gather evidence, build cases and help victims feel comfortable enough to testify.

"Having a dedicated unit helps lower their overall caseload and allows them to apply the time and effort that these cases deserve," Sullivan said.

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APD Investigations Bureau Cmdr. Marc Paolino said the unit was built to put survivors at the center of investigations while targeting those exploiting them.

"The work they’ve done has made our community safer and sent a clear message that the Aurora Police Department will aggressively pursue anyone who exploits others for this type of heinous, criminal activity," Paolino said in a department release.

Among those arrested is Marshae Wheelock, 24, of Aurora, whom police linked to multiple cases allegedly involving the exploitation of children over several years.

"Marshae Wheelock represents the type of offender the Human Trafficking Unit was created to investigate; someone who repeatedly preys on vulnerable children," APD Deputy Chief Mark Hildebrand said in the release.

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The department also detailed a February undercover operation in which investigators recovered a 16-year-old girl and later identified three suspects accused of sexually exploiting her for financial gain.

Sullivan cautioned that trafficking often looks very different from the abductions portrayed in movies. Someone does not have to be snatched off the street by another person to exploit their vulnerability.

"There is some kind of need that a trafficker identifies to exploit, and that’s how they get in," Sullivan said.

That need could be housing, food, money or affection. Filling it through legitimate support is a central part of helping survivors, he said.

The APD works with human services officials, nonprofit organizations and victim advocates. Sullivan pointed to a local group, From Silence to Saved, which helps victims from the beginning of an investigation through court proceedings and afterward.

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He also credited support from police leadership and organizations that provide tools to help detectives identify victims online.

Sullivan oversees Aurora’s Internet Crimes Against Children team, as well as its trafficking detectives. The teams investigate distinct crimes, including sextortion, but their work can overlap.

The department said the trafficking unit draws on local, state and federal partnerships, and investigative resources through the Colorado Cyber Guardian Task Force.

The threats also cross geographic and economic boundaries.

Asked whether Tren de Aragua (TdA) had been involved in the trafficking his team investigated, Sullivan said his unit had not encountered that connection.

His broader point was that exploitation can affect people across backgrounds.

Sullivan described another high school student who came from a wealthier background but became vulnerable after her mother suffered a disabling medical crisis and her father was absent. The girl became addicted to drugs and was exploited by someone else, he said.

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"There really is no boundary on where we see victims," Sullivan said.

Investigators regularly work with other agencies, including when victims travel between states.

"This is a problem in every community around the country, whether it’s a big city or small," he added.

For parents, Sullivan’s advice begins with staying involved and asking questions about what their children are doing online.

Warning signs can include unexplained cash, new clothes or paid-for manicures, as well as disappearing for a weekend and returning with things they did not have before. He encouraged families to use educational resources from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

Some investigations remain stalled while detectives await additional information, Sullivan said. Survivors may not be ready to come forward or may not recognize themselves as victims, making it harder to advance a case.

As the unit enters its second year, its priorities remain identifying victims and building cases against those exploiting them.

Public tips can help detectives reach people sooner, he said.

"We don’t turn away any kind of tips," Sullivan said.

He also urged people experiencing exploitation to seek support even if they are not ready to participate in a criminal investigation. Advocacy organizations can help without involving police, he said.

For the detectives, the mission continues beyond an arrest: working with partners to meet the needs traffickers used to gain control in the first place.

"Using a group of people to help identify those needs and provide those needs is kind of the goal and the key to us being successful," Sullivan said.

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